This show has always intrigued me. Maybe out of morbid curiosity more than anything. But I thought it was at least a decent enough watch, rather than out-and-out terrible.
Regarding Bauman, he wasn’t good here, but I have a hard time crapping on him too much for that. Goodson just didn’t seem to get what made Squares work, and Bauman was thrown into a situation that I believe even Peter Marshall would have found difficult. The fact that he was without his Bowzer persona, in which he’d made most of his game show appearances, likely didn’t help. I can see where something like Pop N Rocker would have probably been more in his wheelhouse.
As for his Twitter comments, I have to think he’s just spinning, maybe to make this look better to casuals who may be viewing it for the first time. But if he really believes that...
And yeah, I think BUZZR getting MGHS was about getting some form of Squares into their library as much as anything. In theory, having another title like
Hollywood Squares that casuals will recognize will look good to prospective advertisers and programming carriers.